From 'professor' to knighted 'sir': UCLA’s Bob Foster is honored by Finland
Professor Bob Foster was knighted last year in Finland for his work with the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
By Lucas Bensley
Jan. 12, 2012 1:12 a.m.
Bob Foster did not expect anything unusual when he attended a ceremony at the Finnish Consulate General’s Los Angeles residence in December.
But by the end of the night, Foster, an adjunct professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, had received the honor of Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland ““ the highest honor given to non-Finnish citizens.
That also meant he could be addressed as “Sir Bob” from now on.
Foster was knighted for his role in helping Finnish technological companies move further in corporate development in the Anderson Global Access Program. He was joined at the ceremony on Dec. 9 by colleague Elwin Svenson, executive director of International Programs for the Global Access Program, other leaders of Anderson and several Finnish business executives.
“They don’t hand these out like Coca-Colas,” Foster said. “It’s pretty rare for a non-Finnish citizen to receive such an honor.”
Foster, who has taught at Anderson for 26 years, directs the school’s Global Access Program. The program matches teams of students from an associated program with technology firms in one of 17 countries to develop business strategies that enable the companies to compete in larger markets.
“The Global Access Program is the applied master’s thesis for students in the MBA program,” said Dylan Stafford, director of admissions for the Fully Employed MBA. program. “It is mostly because of the Global Access Program and our skilled faculty that Anderson’s MBA program ranks No. 2 in the nation.”
Finland has been associated with the program for 12 years, Foster said. The Finnish government decided to increase funding in research and development in 1998, and Finnish companies were encouraged to participate in the program, Svenson added.
Over the years, MBA students have worked with corporations trying to operate in markets outside Finland, Foster said.
“It’s a win-win situation,” Stafford said. “(The Finnish government) gets their companies to work with students, and the students get to prepare these business strategies with them and test their skills.”
As director of the program, Foster designs the six-month course for 255 business students, who work with 50 trade or technology governmental agencies in participating countries. The students are responsible for presenting plans on how these firms can expand into foreign markets at the end of the course. Foster also manages relations with participating firms and has made multiple trips to Finland, Australia, Chile and elsewhere to encourage more businesses to join the program.
The 120 companies that have worked with the program have benefited greatly, and want to honor the people who helped make it possible ““ such as Foster, Svenson said. “Since they can’t honor institutions, they honor individuals they believe to be the most responsible.”
Svenson also received the same honor in 2004 while serving a leadership role in the Fully Employed MBA program.
“We’re doing something great for the many students involved and the countries and people we’ve been working for,” Foster said. “You don’t do this job for the awards or anything. Those are really just icing on the cake.”
